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Triage : Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma

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The act of triage is the ultimate humanitarian nightmare. Racing against time with limited resources, relief workers make split-second decisions: who gets treatment; who gets food; who lives; who dies. This impossible dilemma understandably haunts humanitarians like Dr. James Orbinski, who accepted the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) as their President, and was a field doctor during the Somali famine, the Rwandan genocide, among other catastrophes. Having seen the best and worst of humanitarian assistance and of humanity itself, Orbinski embarks on his most difficult mission to date - writing a deeply personal and controversial book that struggles to make sense of it all. Leaving his young family behind in Toronto, Canada - where he's a university professor and doctor - Orbinski returns to Africa, revisiting the past and engaging with the present. He hopes that here, in the place where he witnessed humanity literally torn apart, he can rediscover the true heart of humanitarianism. In Triage, a feature-length documentary, Orbinski travels to war-torn Somalia, the first place he was posted with MSF in 1992; then to Rwanda, where he was MSF Head of Mission during the 1994 genocide. Finally he goes to Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, where it seems humanitarian dreams go to die. Filmed in an intense vérité style, Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma presents a unique view of the world through the penetrating eyes of Orbinski. He refuses to turn away when confronting troubling memories or realizing disturbing truths and, in the most unlikely of places, he finds where bonds of solidarity are forged, and human spirits somehow remain unbroken. Orbinski - a father, a doctor, a humanitarian - has seen lives saved and lives lost and has personally witnessed a world gone astray. In Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma, he searches for a new path and invites the viewer to follow. Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma is an 88-minute feature film by the creative team behind the award-winning documentary Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire.

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General Note

Agency - English program:.Ontario Centre.
Agency:.Produced by White Pine Pictures in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada, with the assistance of The Canadian International Development Agency and licensed for Canadian Television Broadcast by The CanWest Global TV Network.

Credit Note

Director, Patrick Reed ; producer, Peter Raymont ; editor, Michèle Hozer ; photography, John Westheuser ; sound recording, Ao Loo ; producer, Silva Basmajian ; executive producer, Silva Basmajian ; music, Mark Korven ; researcher, Michelle Latimer ; graphics, Philip Wilson ; sound supervisor, Russell Walker ; sound editor, Jakob Thiesen, Steve Payne ; re-recording mixer, Ian Rodness, Steve Payne ; archival research, Patrick Reed.

Time of Event Note

Recorded 2007.

Summary

The act of triage is the ultimate humanitarian nightmare. Racing against time with limited resources, relief workers make split-second decisions: who gets treatment; who gets food; who lives; who dies. This impossible dilemma understandably haunts humanitarians like Dr. James Orbinski, who accepted the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) as their President, and was a field doctor during the Somali famine, the Rwandan genocide, among other catastrophes. Having seen the best and worst of humanitarian assistance and of humanity itself, Orbinski embarks on his most difficult mission to date - writing a deeply personal and controversial book that struggles to make sense of it all. Leaving his young family behind in Toronto, Canada - where he's a university professor and doctor - Orbinski returns to Africa, revisiting the past and engaging with the present. He hopes that here, in the place where he witnessed humanity literally torn apart, he can rediscover the true heart of humanitarianism. In Triage, a feature-length documentary, Orbinski travels to war-torn Somalia, the first place he was posted with MSF in 1992; then to Rwanda, where he was MSF Head of Mission during the 1994 genocide. Finally he goes to Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, where it seems humanitarian dreams go to die. Filmed in an intense vérité style, Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma presents a unique view of the world through the penetrating eyes of Orbinski. He refuses to turn away when confronting troubling memories or realizing disturbing truths and, in the most unlikely of places, he finds where bonds of solidarity are forged, and human spirits somehow remain unbroken. Orbinski - a father, a doctor, a humanitarian - has seen lives saved and lives lost and has personally witnessed a world gone astray. In Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma, he searches for a new path and invites the viewer to follow. Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma is an 88-minute feature film by the creative team behind the award-winning documentary Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire.

System Det Note

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Source of Description Note (R)

Description based on online resource; title from title screen (National Film Board of Canada, viewed 2023-08-10).